Kanye West wins two prizes at BET Awards

Rap star Kanye West picked up two prizes at the BET Awards, an event honoring black recording artists, actors and athletes, while Alicia Keys was one of several stars who used the occasion to salute presidential contender Barack Obama.

The only other multiple winner was the hip-hop duo UGK, consisting of Bernard "Bun B" Freeman and the recently deceased Chad "Pimp C" Butler. In all 15 awards were handed out during a three-hour show mixing the heroes of contemporary hip-hop and old-school R&B.

Keys, flying high with a successful worldwide tour, a chart-topping album and an upcoming film, shared the stage with three leading female ensemble acts from the 1990s -- TLC, En Vogue and Sisters with Voices -- for a medley of R&B music.

She went on to win the prize for best female R&B artist, and offered a heartfelt endorsement to Obama, who would be the first African-American elected to the nation's highest office.

"Together we can do anything -- Obama, y'all!" she enthused.

Teen sensation Chris Brown, who topped the U.S. singles chart last year with "Kiss Kiss," was named best male R&B performer.

AL GREEN IS SORRY

The evening's most spine-tingling moment came when veteran soul crooner Al Green, recipient of a lifetime achievement award, got the audience in the Shrine Auditorium on its feet singing, and dancing, along with his classic 1970s hit "Let's Stay Together."

Backstage a short time later, Green apologized.

"I'm sorry I didn't sing as well as I should because I got scared. I was nervous," he said. Green, 62, earlier this month hit the top 10 of the U.S. pop chart with his first album in three years, "Lay It Down."

West, whose third album, "Graduation," was one of 2007's top-selling releases and spawned three Grammys, was named best male hip-hop artist and shared a second BET prize with R&B singer T-Pain for their collaboration on the hit single "Good Life."

"This man, T-Pain, is a genius," West declared onstage of his co-winner, resplendent in metallic silver-and-black patterned top hat and tails and oversized shades. "I'm one of the kings in this game right now, so my opinion counts."

T-Pain, a southern soul singer with a best-selling ringtone adapted from his hit single "Buy U a Drank," was visibly humbled and euphoric.

"I appreciate it everybody," he said. "Three years ago, I couldn't even get a ticket to get up in here." T-Pain entered the show with the most nominations, five in all.

UGK, whose album "Underground Kingz" topped the charts last summer, won the BET prize as best group and shared the award for best video with the hip-hop duo Outkast for their work together on "International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)."

It was a bittersweet triumph for UGK, coming just six months after Butler, 33, was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel. Two days later UGK received a Grammy nomination for the song "International Player's Anthem." Butler had previously served nearly four years in prison for aggravated assault.

Freeman, aka Bun B, now pursuing a solo career, said he hoped "to keep Pimp C's legacy alive" with a new UGK album due out this fall.

The prize for best female hip-hop performer went to Missy Elliott, who has not had an album out since 2005 but has a new CD set for release in August.

The Dream was named best new artist, and the viewers' choice award, determined by an online vote of fans, went to Lil Wayne and his single "Lollipop," featuring Static.

The best and actress awards went to Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, neither of whom attended.

The eighth annual BET Awards was presented by the BET (Black Entertainment Television) Networks cable group, which carried the three-hour show live.

Album Release- June 24 2008

24 June Tuesday
Joseph Arthur	[Title TBA] EP
Dwele	Sketches of a Man
Alejandro Escovedo	Real Animal
Hercules And Love Affair	Hercules And Love Affair
IAMX	Kiss+Swallow US Release
Less Than Jake	GNV FLA
Nelly	Brass Knuckles
Safari So Good	Every Fight is a Food Fight When You're A Cannibal
Three 6 Mafia	Last 2 Walk
Paul Weller	22 Dreams
Withered	Folie Circulaire

Album Review: Julianne Hough – ‘Julianne Hough’

Julianne Hough is already known to millions of fans as the two-time professional dance champion on ABC-TV's top-rated Dancing with the Stars (DWTS). The show, which pairs professional dancers with music, sports, film and television celebrities, has become a cultural phenomenon and Julianne its top star.

Julianne's debut album is a compelling collection of songs about the joys and challenges of everyday life delivered by an evocative young voice. "That Song In My Head" is the first single from the album and available immediately to download from the Amazon MP3 store.

Release Date (USA): 2008-05-20

Artist/s: Julianne Hough
Label: Mercury Nashville

Track Listing
1 That Song In My Head
2 You, You, You
3 Hide Your Matches
4 My Hallelujah Song
5 Jimmy Rae McGee
6 Dreaming Under The Same Moon (Featuring Derek Hough)
7 About Life
8 Hello
9 Help Me, Help You
10 Love Yourself
11 I'd Just Be With You

Tha Carter III Review: The Takeover

Lil Wayne moves to the forefront of hip-hop biggest star with “Tha Carter III.”
I admit I was skeptical. With all the postponed release dates and absurd amount of hype, I figured Lil Wayne's much-anticipated “Tha Carter III” would only disappoint.

Now that Weezy has become mainstream and released the 50 Cent-like single “Lollipop” for the radio masses, I figured the so-called best rapper alive would become yet another hip-hop star who eschewed creativity for selling out.
Turns out “Tha Carter III” was worth the wait.
The disc is a potpourri of tracks, from the likely club hit “Got Money” featuring T-Pain to the R&B-infused “Comfortable” produced by Kanye West with the hook crooned by the legendary Babyface.
Other guest stars include Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Robin Thicke, Bobby Valentino, Fabolous and Juelz Santana.
The song with Jay-Z, “Mr. Carter,” is the hottest track on the disc, but it also could signal a changing of the guard. While Jay-Z spits his usual hot rhymes, it's Weezy who takes the lead, which is how it's starting to play out in the hip-hop mainstream.
Want proof? When I went to pick up the CD last night, the store I was at had already sold out of their initial copies and had to tap into Wednesday's supply. That's how hot Weezy is right now and there doesn't seem to be any signs of him cooling down.

Ashanti's bloody videos spark protest

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Blood-splattered videos for R&B singer-songwriter Ashanti's single "The Way That I Love You" sparked a protest by demonstrators in Los Angeles, prompting the artist and Universal Records to remove the clips from the Internet.
Led by civil-rights organization Project Islamic Hope and its leader, Najee Ali, more than two dozen parents and religious leaders gathered outside the West Coast Universal/Motown offices on Tuesday (June 10) to voice their displeasure with the videos.
One clip features a scorned lover, played by Ashanti, who gets revenge on her cheating boyfriend by stabbing him to death. Images include a murder scene with a bloody knife and the boyfriend's body in a tub.

A separate promotional video includes a fake news reports about a killing spree allegedly inspired by Ashanti's love crime, as well as bloody walls with the words "black children will die" smeared on them. Before the protest, the promo video was viewable on TheWayThatILoveYou.com, but the site has since been removed.

The site allowed visitors to send customized versions of the promotional video called "Gotchagrams," with options to input a friend's name, their "crime" and "weapon of choice."

"Following discussions with Ashanti, we have jointly decided to remove the TheWayThatILoveYou.com website that hosts the Gotchagram," reads a statement from Universal. "Ashanti and her music have always been about self-empowerment and addressing the issues that are most meaningful to her. We stand by our artist and her creative choices."

"The Way That I Love You" is the first single from her new album, "The Declaration," which debuts this week at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

Reuters/Billboard

Album Review: 'Evil Urges' by My Morning Jacket

New album a hodgepodge of genre, style, quality

My Morning Jacket's "Evil Urges" appears to be the product of a band that has collectively lost its damn mind. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (though a few tracks might be), but My Morning Jacket doesn't appear to be content with being a pretty terrific alt-country, reverb-heavy, Southern-rock band; they're reaching into all sorts of other genres, too. More than a few times, this results in a pretty disjointed feeling, but it works more often than it doesn't.

That doesn't mean it isn't completely bizarre - we've got songs that sound like Donovan, '60s bubblegum pop, James Taylor, '80s hair bands and Michael Jackson (I know, I was as surprised as anyone). More distressingly, Jim James and co. have largely dropped the reverb that made "It Still Moves" and "Z" so dream-like and memorable. I respect bands for messing with their sound and all (as long as they don't become, well, lame in the process - see the last Interpol album), but some remnant of what made me like the band in the first place is always appreciated.

See, for example, the most bewildering track on the album, "Highly Suspicious," which melds an '80s hair band feel with a bit of Tom Waits and a bit of Michael Jackson. I have no idea what to make of it, and it doesn't really fit with the rest of the album.

The tracks I like the best, I must admit, are by and large the hill-country songs, simple and with few flourishes, that the band does best. See "Sec Walkin" and "Smokin from Shootin," two excellent tracks that remind us, in spite of a few spots now and then, that My Morning Jacket can still bring the Southern rock better than just about anyone. The title track, "Evil Urges," in which James helpfully reminds us in a falsetto that is atypically alarming for him that "evil urges, baby / are part of the human race," brings the greatness as well.

But the anthemic "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2" and the soft storytelling of "Librarian" are unrivaled in any of My Morning Jacket's previous output. It's worth listening to the weaker tracks (or the fairly decent tracks that don't really make much of an impression, like "I'm Amazed," "Look at You" and "Remnants") to get to these two gems. "Librarian" is a gentle, haunting Donovan-type ballad that marks the first reasonably serious use of the term "Interweb" I've encountered anywhere, while also lamenting the beauty of a librarian, spoiled, as James sings, by her own self-image (and drawing a comparison to Karen Carpenter, "another lovely victim of the mirror"). "When God gave us mirrors," he sings, "he had no idea."

"Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2," meanwhile, is bombastic where "Librarian" is subdued. It seems like the kitchen-sink track on an album that feels like a kitchen-sink album, as the song essentially serves as a reprise of the "Pt. 1" track, with the addition of synthesizers, disco-style beats and choirs. If that sounds over-the-top, it is, but in the most excellent way.

If it sounds like I have no idea what to make of this album, even after having listened to it many, many times … well, that's true. But the high parts are high enough to give this a recommendation. You can always skip past the really weird parts.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends (Parlophone)

Release date: 12 June 2008
All the talk before Coldplay released their last album was how an unforeseen delay of the album's release (caused allegedly by Chris Martin being scared witless by, erm, Morning Runner) would lead to a profits warning by EMI - that's how much was riding on what turned out to be a pretty underwhelming record.

This time round, you could be forgiven for EMI's shareholders panicking once again. All the talk is of musical revolution - it's Dylan goes electric, it's Coldplay's very own Achtung Baby, maybe even their Kid A.....

Or maybe not. For, although this is undoubtedly Coldplay's most musically adventurous album, it certainly won't scare away the millions of people who bought their first three albums. True, there's a little less trademark piano, which has been replaced by excessive percussion and some unusual song structures, but it's certainly not an unrecognisable Chris Martin who welcomes us aboard the rather pretentiously titled album.

An instrumental opening up the record is about as avant-garde as Coldplay get here - but as instrumental opening tracks go, it's pretty damn good. Life In Technicolour builds up slowly, then bursts into action, aided by some 'woah-oh-oh's from Martin. It's an uplifting opening, which bodes well for the next 45 minutes.

There are several tracks that merge into each other, giving the impression sometimes of a total shift in time signatures - Yes for example begins as a woozy, doomy ballad, with Martin wearily intoning "I'm just so tired of this loneliness" before effortless spiralling off into Chinese Sleep Chant, which with its barrage of guitars and whispered vocals, sounds like it could be an out-take from a Ride or Asobi Seksu album.

It's a similar story with Lovers In Japan, although slightly more Coldplay-esque. The opening is all chiming guitars and soaring choruses - the closest that the band have ever come to U2 in effect - before quickly changing tone into a more sombre piano ballad, Reign Of Love. The idea behind these 'hidden tracks' is apparently intended to encourage people to download the whole album rather than specific tracks, but it works very well.

Viva La Vida also contains some of Chris Martin's best songs to date, such as the excellent, string drenched Viva La Vida which rivals Arcade Fire for sheer uplifting goodness, and the stomping Violet Hill, which cleverly switches from snarling and aggressive to plaintive and yearning at the click of a finger.

There are other nice touches throughout - the clattering percussion on Cemeteries Of London, the backwards guitar loop on Strawberry Swing and the closing Death And All His Friends which expertedly builds up to a bellowing chorus of "I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge, I don't want to follow death and all of his friends" which is so impassioned you'll have trouble stopping yourself joining in.

Yet there are other moments which stop this being Martin's masterpiece. He's still got that habit of writing lyrics in platitudes and cliches - the otherwise excellent 42 solemnly informs us that "those who are dead are not dead, they're just living in my head" while throughout the album there is mention of time being short, someday the sun will come out, big fish in little ponds and so on.

It's a shame because the aforementioned 42 is probably the furthest they've pushed the boat out musically - there's about 3 different melodies in there, switching from piano ballad, to funky guitar wig-out, a hand-clapping section, before switching back to the piano ballad. Credit for this should go to producer Brian Eno, who's done a similar job to what he did with Paul Simon a couple of years ago - subtly adding little touches here and there in order to develop the band's sound without scaring off the casual fan.

They're a much maligned bunch are Coldplay - mainly because they're so successful. Yet you only become successful if you're good at what you do, and Coldplay are extremely good at what they do. While this doesn't quite hit the heady heights of A Rush Of Blood To The Heads, it's a huge improvement on the beiger than beige X&Y, and if their next album (apparently featuring a Kylie Minogue duet!) continues this trajectory, we could have something pretty special on our hands.

June release 2008 - 17 June

17 June Tuesday
The Briggs	Come All You Madmen
Busta Rhymes	Blessed
Coldplay	Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Anthony David	Acey Deucey
Goo Goo Dolls	Greatest Hits Volume 2
Ice Cube	Raw Footage
MIGGS	Unraveled
Judas Priest	Nostradamus
Missy Elliott	FANomenal
The Notwist	The Devil, You + Me
The Offspring	Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Ride The Boogie	Ride The Boogie
Silver Jews	Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Tilly and the Wall	O
Sister Hazel	Before The Amplifiers, Live Acoustic
Wolf Parade	At Mount Zoomer

June release 2008 - 10 June

10 June Tuesday
The Bangkok Five	We Love What Kills Us
Solomon Burke	Like a Fire
Jakob Dylan	Seeing Things ex-Wallflowers
Lil Wayne	Tha Carter III
Alanis Morissette	Flavors of Entanglement
My Education	Bad Vibrations
My Morning Jacket	Evil Urges
N.E.R.D.	Seeing Sounds
Plies	Definition of Real
Quitzow	Art College
Railroad Earth	Amen Corner
Setting Sun	Children of The Wild
Martha Wainwright	I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings, Too

Ashanti releases Declaration

Today is the return day for Ashanti, who once was the biggest female R&B artist in the world. Nathan S from djbooth.net writes:

She was the reigning princess, and people across America simultaneously turned up their radios just to listen to her whisper “baby, baby, baby” over and over again. And then, something mysterious happened. Despite two previous platinum albums, sales of her 2004 release Concrete Rose were disappointing at best. Maybe it was Irv Gotti’s legal troubles, maybe it was the quickly shifting landscape of the recording industry, whatever the reason, Ashanti has undeniably disappeared from the spotlight over the last four years. As unthinkable as this would have been in 2001, I just asked my 12-year-old niece who Ashanti was, and she responded “who?””

It is true as time went by I even forgotten Ashanti exists. I forgot how I loved to listen to her unique voice in my car while driving to classes. But you know Nathan is right that Ashanti is still cool and hasn’t changed. She has pretty much been the same and he is right about us changing and not her.

Rolling Stone:

On her fourth album, she’s still doing the diva-by-numbers thing, alternating between angry-at-her-man anthems and lovey pleasantry. The shuffling “Body on Me,” featuring Nelly and Akon, and the shiny electro-pop “So Over You” are a step up from her Ja Rule duets of old. 2 out of 5″

Associated Press:

The disc doesn‘t manage to break any new ground, with Ashanti singing mainly over unremarkable contemporary R&B tracks about her own good loving and cheating boyfriends.”

MSNBC:

Ashanti continues to celebrate her femininity on tracks like the sensual, Robin Thicke-assisted “Things You Make Me Do” and the bass-heavy ”Girlfriend.”

Us Weekly:

While her fourth CD of self-penned R&B tracks contains a few hip beats (such as the piano-driven first single, “The Way That I Love You”), the sound feels out of date. 2 1/2 out of 4″

Ashanti has also been trying herself in acting career which is the latest trend among celebrities whether they go music-to-movies or vice versa. Diva has already starred in Resident Evil, John Tucker Must Die and Coach Carter. But all of her roles were tiny and unimportant. Ashanti says:

I’m always reading scripts. I’m even looking to get into some behind-the-scenes work. Maybe do some co-producing. It’s all about taking chances. You can’t be afraid to try something different.”

Hopefully her album Declaration will give her a boost and she would declare herself as one of the leading vocals in the US.

When you get pushed into a certain position and your back’s against the wall, you’re either gonna sink or you’re gonna swim. I choose not to sink.”

Said singer leaning forward on the conference room table at Universal Motown’s Manhattan headquarters.

Starting today her album is available in stores. See the video of the song from Ashanti’s new album Declaration.

Full article and clips >>

Album Release Dates - June 2008

There aren’t a whole lot of album releases for June but I’ve been anticipating Jewel’s upcoming album for several months!

June 3
Jewel - Perfectly Clear

June 10
Montgomery Gentry - Back When I Knew It All

June 24
Mark Chesnutt - Rollin’ With the Flow

PLIES TO HOST SOPHOMORE ALBUM RELEASE PARTY JUNE 10TH IN TAMPA, FL

For_Immediate_Release:

United States of America (Press Release) May 29, 2008 -- TAMPA, FLORIDA – Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic rap Superstar PLIES will celebrate the release of his sophomore album DEFINITION OF REAL, on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at the all new Club 360 (1609 East 7th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605) in Ybor. This star studded event will not only be a celebration of the rappers 2nd album in less than a year, but has been deemed the most anticipated social experience of the year. The event is open to the public in support and appreciation of PLIES' many fans. In addition, expected attendees will include music, television, film, professional sports and entertainment movers, shakers, and tastemakers. The celebration begins at 9pm EST.

ABOUT:

PLIES, who was recently named Forbes, top 10 "Hottest New Music Stars," hails from Ft. Myers, FL. Signed to Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic records, PLIES made an impressive debut in August of 2007 with his certified gold album The Real Testament which spawned chart topping singles such as "Shawty" feat. T-Pain, "Hypnotized" feat. Akon and "I Am the Club" which sold over 2 million ring tones collectively. In recent months the rapper has launched and interactive, dual purpose fan club, and kicked off a nationwide promotional tour. The tour will pay tribute to his many fans in the U.S. Military with a series of appearances in association with Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and Navy Exchange Service command. PLIES is currently preparing for the June 10th release of his sophomore album DEFINITION OF REAL. To find out more information about PLIES visit www.PliesWorld.com.
DEFINITION OF REAL will be available in stores and online on Tuesday, June 10, 2008. Led by a compilation of chart topping singles including "Bust It Baby pt. 2" featuring Neyo and the official 2nd single "Please Excuse My Hands" featuring Jaime Foxx and Dream. The album caters to a diverse fan base with the contemplative "Worth Goin' Fed For," Plies debates the perils of street life. And with the heart-wrenching "Somebody Loves You," Plies reassures that no matter what's going on in life, there's always someone there for you. "Who Hotter Than Me" most definitely serves the hood, where Plies carries his signature swag and declares the streets on lock. The Trey Songz assisted "I'm the Man" stands perfectly side-by-side with the super-raunchy "I Feel Like F***in'," making "DEFINITION OF REAL" a complete and balanced album, much like Plies' debut The Real Testament

Music Source

June release 2008

3 June Tuesday
Ashanti	The Declaration
Common	The Greatest Story Ever Told
Disturbed	Indestructible
Fleet Foxes	Fleet Foxes
From Bubblegum To Sky	A Soft Kill
The Futureheads	This Is Not The World
Jewel	Perfectly Clear
Journey	Revelation Walmart exclusive 3-disc CD/DVD
Ladytron	Velocifero
Aimee Mann	@#%&! Smilers
Bret Michaels	Rock My World
Midnight Juggernauts	Dystopia
Robert Pollard	Robert Pollard is Off to Business
Radiohead	Radiohead: The Best Of Best-of EMI albums
Gavin Rossdale	Wanderlust
Shearwater	Rook
Spiritualized	Songs in A & E
Weezer	Weezer (Red Album)
Your Highness Electric	The Grand Hooded Phantom Source: www.metacritic.com

Review The Ting Tings We Started Nothing

Artist: The Ting Tings

Released: 19 May 2008

There comes a moment when even the most ardent cynic realises its time to sneak out of their jaded prison and gatecrash a party. And this summer, as a nation throws off its shackles of pessimism to the sounds of their debut, it'll happen to you too. Licking their wounds after trial-by-record-label with former outfit, Dear Eskimo, the Salford duo stared into the roiling canyon of resentment - and decided to go drinking instead. The result is the delirious joy-gasm known as We Started Nothing, and the soundtrack to what can only be described as a Ting Tings moment.

Stultifying career? Soul-sapping ex? Shoe-gazing again? Throw a party! And be sure to book a Great DJ! This dizzying, sing-a-long opening track is homage to their famed escapades as scenesters-in-residence at Islington Mill - Manchester's drizzly, down-to-earth rendering of Andy Warhol's Factory. With such hedonistic pedigree, it'd be easy to dismiss them as purveyors of the slick hipster sneer, but they're unremittingly adorable. The Ting Tings are distinctive in the electro ephemera trade for their unpretentious quirkiness. It can be seen on such playful adventures in nonsensical imagery as Traffic Light and Fruit Machine.

The album scampers by in its springy Converse with suitably youthful exuberence. Yet, it has a spirit that can only come from experience. The shouty roll call of misnomers, That's Not My Name, is a feminist rant you can only write when you have the benefit of hindsight. It was inspired by the experience of singer/guitarist, Katie White, who was offered fame-for-flesh in their former incarnation. The track laments forgettable female starlets baring all for the lads. With idealism duly quashed, it's a refreshingly jovial indictment of modern music which, nonetheless, packs a punch.

Of course, any party worth its salt stays on way past the Ting Tings moment and, naturally, this duo aren't going to be going home alone any time soon. Their staggering six-minute title track is like a dishevelled dawn chorus, serenading the last men standing. Cynics can look on blankly as the pied pipers of hyper lead the conga into the middle of next zeitgeist.

Music Source